Demi-napped
by Skyhigh28
Summary: Jennifer Moore is a happy daughter of Aphrodite. Her only problem is she feels everyone else at CHB sees her as nothing more than a pretty face who would never ever be granted a quest. Then one day, she takes things a step too far and all Hades brakes loose. Rated T for language. My first fic & I don't own any PJO characters.
1. Chapter 1

**_Jennifer's P.O.V._**

"Jennifer, I really think we should be getting back to training by now," my best friend, Courtney Webb prodded my shoulder. "Mr. D is gonna be pissed if he catches us again."

Courtney has been my best friend since I came to camp 3 years ago. She had deep brown eyes and curly dirty-blond hair. She's really nice and pretty cool most of the time, but when it came to breaking the rules like this, she is always _totally_ paranoid.

"Yeah, _if_ he catches us," I turned over on my towel, sat up and looked at her. "You can go if you want."

"Come on, you know I'd never have the guts to do that." She rolled her eyes.

Courtney and I were tanning on the Long Island Sound at Camp Half-Blood. I'm a daughter of Aphrodite. Courtney's mom is Hecate.

I had decided at the end of 8th grade that I wouldn't always go to training every day, instead, I'd lie on the Sound and get my tan on. I honestly saw no reason to keep training anymore.

"What's even the point of me going anyway? Let's face it- I am _not_ made for this whole 'demigod' gig. Like seriously, I'm stupid, my reflexes suck compared to everyone else, and I can barely hold any sort of weapon without it wobbling out of my grip!" I had been so PO'ed at myself for 3 days straight. I needed to let this out. "I mean, Chiron tries to make me feel better by being all like, 'you'll get it when your time comes' and I'm just over here like, 'I'm sorry but '_my_ _time_' is NEVER'. I don't see why he wastes his time with me." I put my head in my hands and groaned.

Behind us, a twig snapped under someone's shoe. Within a split second, Courtney was up and in a battle stance, ready to murder whoever was eavesdropping on us. I suddenly felt very exposed in my bikini.

"Gods Arthur, get a life," she huffed, sitting back down. "Don't you have _anything_ better to do?"

Arthur McCabe stepped out of the woods, grinning like an idiot, "Haha, _nope_. And Jennifer, I am _so_ telling Chiron everything you just said."

"Go ahead. See if I care. I meant every word of it. I hope you had fun playing Super Snitch." I turned around to face him and sat on my heels.

"Seriously Arthur, go step on a LEGO or something." Courtney rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

He face palmed us and laughed, "Wow, that is the best you could-"

"You," I interrupted, pointing at him and charm-speaking weakly, "are dismissed."

Courtney and I watched as Arthur trudged back through the woods, making sure he didn't try to slip behind a tree and continue stalking us. Of course, he flipping did.

"Go rip that perv apart." I flipped around and looked out onto the ocean, _totally_ done with that boy.

"Already on it," she stood up and cracked her knuckles before slowly creeping up on him. Courtney had always been the stealthy type.

As I stared across the ocean about 5 children of Poseidon ran across the water. After Gaea had been defeated by Jason, Leo and Piper over 20 years ago, the Big Three had decided it was a good time to 'get back in the game'. I know right? Ew.

Anyway, I was surprised by just how long I had been out here; it was almost 2:00 so everyone was on a break. As I watched the Poseidon kids playing Jesus, one of them noticed me sitting on the beach. He waved.

I smiled and waved back. He turned and said something to his siblings then started jogging over to me.

As soon as he was in earshot, I called out to him, "Hey, Alex!"

I met Alex Davis two summers ago. He's about 5' 11 and has these incredible green-blue eyes that people would kill for. His naturally blond hair is wavy and swept to the side and he has serious flow. In short, he's super cute. He's nice to anyone (who deserves it), funny in the right places, pretty much the whole package. Over last summer, we had become really good friends and were partners in training whenever we could be. Too bad I barely train anymore. Susan Carter, this girl in my cabin, keeps saying that he's 'totally into me' to try to get me to go. I guess I should really take her advice more seriously because Susan can tell who someone likes just by looking at them. I had only thought about him as a friend until like last week, so I wasn't too surprised when I heard my heart thump just a little harder as he approached.

"'Sup Jenny?" He said, sitting down next to me.

"Nothing," I absentmindedly traced circles in the sand at my feet. The thought of Arthur tattling to Chiron about what I said was starting to worry me a little. Like, what if Arthur wasn't totally bluffing? Gods, I'd be screwed. I must've done a terrible job at hiding my worry.

"C'mon, even you know that's not true. What's wrong?" He put his hand on my shoulder.

I turned to look at him. His eyes looked playful, but slightly concerned. I took a deep breath and stammered, "I-I'm, I feel like.. I feel like I'm worthless." I tore my eyes away from his and looked back into the sand as quickly as I could.

"Jennifer, what are you talking about?" Alex pulled me up by my shoulder so I could look him in the eye. "You are the farthest thing from worthless."

"I know, I mean... thanks... it's just... gods, I said that way too bluntly," I gave him a nervous laugh. "What I mean is, I'm not made up to be a demigod who actually _gets_ out into the world and does something. Like, let's be real here, if you were offered a quest, who would be your first pick on people you could take with you? A child of Ares? Sure. Zeus? Not even a question, yes. Hephaestus? You better. But _Aphrodite_? Just... _no_! Like, what could I do? _Hair flip _a monster to death? No! It's just..." I put my head into my knees and groaned.

"Well," Alex seemed at a loss for words, "Didn't Piper McLean charm-speak Gaea into an eternal sleep?"

"Yeah but—whatever. I mean sometimes it's cool to be Aphrodite's kid because you're really pretty. And it's fun like, seducing guys every now and then but—"

"Wait _what?" _Alex stared at me. "What do you mean '_seducing_ _guys_'?"

_If he really wants to know_... I thought playfully, _why not show him?_ I giggled, and locked his eyes with mine. "I have no idea what you're talking about." I said, making sure I sounded like a total bubblehead.

See, 'seducing' is pretty much charm-speak without actually saying what you want the person to do. Instead, you can send strong vibes through your tone and expressions. It's like Charm-speaking: Level 2. Its not as direct or obvious, so I've always liked it better.

I batted my eyelashes and gave him a runway smile. I really hope this works, because if it doesn't, I'd just look like a total idiot in front of half the Poseidon cabin.

Suddenly, Alex grabbed the back of my neck and kissed me. I heard lots of '_oooooh's_' coming off the ocean as I pulled away slowly.

"Like that," I smiled coolly even though my heart was beating a mile a minute.

"You made me do that?" Alex's cheeks were flushed a bright pink as he glanced back at his siblings.

"Oh please, I'd only be able to make you really want to do anything. Your secretly wanting to kiss me was the only reason you did." I grinned smugly.

Alex's cheeks got even redder. "Oh," he mumbled.

"But don't worry," I added quickly, turning a little red myself, "I wouldn't have made you if _I_ didn't want to myself."

He smirked at me, and I felt a little better. He took a deep breath, "I guess there's no better time then now to ask you... Will you go out with me?" Alex held his breath.

"Um, uhhh—"Okay, I admit, I freaked a little. I would've _totally_ said yes, but I didn't see it coming somehow, so here I am blubbering and stuttering like an idiot trying to formulate words and at the same time, absolutely _ruining_ his self-confidence. I don't know what exactly I was thinking. I mean I was the one who just made him kiss me is front of a bunch of his siblings. Gods I must look like some shallow, Aphrodite attention hog. I was about to say yes when he interrupted me.

"Whatever," he shook his head. "Forget I asked. But Jennifer, I have a serious bomb to pick with you. Why aren't you showing up to training? I mean, I get that you don't think it's worth it for you, but you are the only person at this camp who thinks the closest thing to that about you."

"Then I'm the only person at this camp who doesn't lie to themselves about me." I turned back to the sand and continued drawing in it. Like it wasn't awkward enough that he just _asked me out_ and I wasn't even able to respond, now he's _really_ pressing me on why I have low self-esteem. Honestly, it was probably the snotty bitches in my cabin. Most of my siblings were usually nice to me, but then there's _those three people_ that are _so freaking annoying. _

Alex groaned. "You're impossible." He shook his head.

"It's a flaw," I admitted.

"No, I mean yeah, but you've just got this _terrible_ image of yourself in your head and it is definitely going to come back and hurt you," he turned my head so I would look him in the eye. "And no one here would _ever_ want that to happen."

"Gods, why do you have to be such a good person?" I gave him a little smile.

"Because," he smiled back, "you're way too hard on yourself."

"Whatever," I laid back down on my towel.

Courtney finally came out from the woods and sat down on her towel. "Well," she said, "we won't be seeing Arthur for a week after he gets out of the infirmary." She giggled.

"Up top," I laughed, holding up my hand for a high five. She smacked it. Hard.

"'Sup Alex," she smirked.

"Hey Court," he nodded. "So, what did Arthur do this time?"

"Pshhh _everything."_ Courtney said and I laughed. "He was watching us while we were tanning."

"Like, ew." I commented.

Alex knitted his eyebrows and nodded. "That's low, even for him."

"I know right? Like, which god is his parent again? Whoever it is, I feel sorry for them."

Alex laughed. "I think it's Pheme, goddess of fame and gossip," he shrugged.

Courtney laughed, "That makes sense."

I pulled on my orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and a pair of shorts that I had left folded next to my towel. "I'm going to go get lunch. Do you guys want to come?"

"I'm in," Courtney raised her hand stood up. She already was in her Camp Half-Blood attire in case Chiron or Mr D happened to creep up behind us she could make a quick getaway.

"Sure," Alex said, brushed the sand off his jeans. "Let's go."

We walked to the mess hall and split up to go to our tables.

I was about to sit down when a voice came from behind me and said, "Jennifer Moore, can I speak to you for a moment?"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Jennifer's P.O.V**_.

I stiffened slightly and fought to keep my expression neutral as I turned around to face Chiron.

"Oh, okay," I smiled and followed him.

Chiron led me out of sight of the mess hall but I could feel people's gazes burning into my back.

He spun around to face me with his back to the mess hall, "Now Jennifer, don't pretend you don't know what this is about." He said, frowning down at me and crossing his arms.

"I-I'm—"

"No. I don't want to hear it. Mr. D and I thought we had made our point by telling you why it was important to show up to training everyday, but I found out today that you still insist on disobeying."

N I clenched my fist so hard that my knuckles turned white. I shot my best death glare to Arthur McCabe, who was watching us from behind a tree with a satisfying black eye and a few cuts on his face and down his arms.

"Jennifer, it is not Arthur's fault that I found out you were breaking the rules. I'm just fairly surprised that you thought you could get away with it," He shook his head. "Though there was one thing that Arthur mentioned that really caught my attention. What do you mean by_ 'I don't see why he wastes his time with me_'?"

"I-I don't—," I mumbled, glancing back at where Arthur was standing, making it clear that I would kill him later. "Can we please discuss this somewhere more _private_?"

Chiron nodded, "Of course."

He led me into an empty room in the Big House. "Well," he spread his arms, "I feel an explanation is in order."

I nodded slowly, carefully formulating words to avoid being rude, "It's just that... I feel... stupid whenever I actually show up to training. I mean, don't deny it, you've seen how pathetic I look! And then all these little 11 year olds show up and are all, 'oh, I've never held a sword in my life but watch me totally butcher this rising sophomore _then_ beat her up the climbing wall!' It's _humiliating_ Chiron!" Anger started bubbling in my gut and my voice began rising involuntarily, "I've been here for—what is it?—3 years now? And I'm just sick and tired of looking like a fool in front of everyone! I know for a fact that their is no way I would be the demigod who gets out of here on a quest, so what's the point? I bet if I left here _right_ _now_, no monsters would even _try_ to kill me. You know why? Because _I'm_. _Not_. _Worth_. _Their_. _Time_." I was breathing heavily and my throat was sore from shouting. My face was hot with anger, my fists were white with tension. I stared into Chiron's eyes, which were full of surprise and pity.

Suddenly, fury melted into grief and I threw myself into the nearest chair, leaned back and let silent tears stream heavily from my eyes. Tears I had held in for so long, were finally escaping.

People say bottling up your feelings is a terrible thing to do to yourself. The only problem is it seems to be an unbreakable habit of mine.

**_Courtney's P.O.V. _**

From the moment I saw Chiron walk away with Jennifer, I knew we were really in for it this time. I tried to read his mind (it's a Hecate thing) to see what kind of punishment she would be getting. After I got through the thick layer of disappointment, I found that he wasn't quite done deciding yet.

_Kitchen duty or Pegasus stables, kitchen duty or Pegasus stables_, he kept thinking. Then suddenly came, _Now Courtney Webb, if you would be so kind as to exit my mind, that would be greatly appreciated. _

I was so surprised by the fact that he _felt_ me sifting through his thoughts, that I drew back immediately.

_Jeez, Gabe was right!_ I thought. _This stuff his _hard_ when you're trying to go undetected._

After 2 minutes, I tried again, only going through Jennifer's mind. I was simple because she has this habit where when she is sad or angry or any extreme negative emotion, she actually projects her thoughts, feelings and the event from her point of view in case anyone who can read minds would seeing and take pity on her. It's kind of smart, to be honest.

_"Well," Chiron was saying, looking expectantly at Jennifer, "I believe an explanation is in order."_

_Jennifer nodded slowly then said, _"_It's just that... I feel... stupid whenever I actually show up to training. I mean, don't deny it, you've seen how pathetic I look! And then all these little 11 year olds show up and are all, 'oh, I've never held a sword in my life but watch me totally butcher this rising sophomore then beat her up the climbing wall!' It's humiliating Chiron!" Anger started bubbling in my gut and my voice began rising involuntarily, "I've been here for—what is it?—3 years now? And I'm just sick and tired of looking like a fool in front of everyone! I know for a fact that their is no way I would be the demigod who gets out of here on a quest, so what's the point? I bet if I left here right now, no monsters would even try to kill me. You know why? Because_ _I'm_. _Not_. _Worth_. _Their_. _Time_."

Oh my gods. I didn't see that coming. Clearly, neither did Chiron. He was staring at Jennifer, unable to keep his expression neutral. His eyes were wide and one of his hands was slowly rising up to cover his gaping mouth.

_Jennifer was crying in a nearby chair. Not a sound escaped her. Just tears, flowing down her cheeks like a river through her eyes squeezed shut._

_Chiron slowly approached her, careful not to make any sudden movements. "Jennifer," he tried comforting her, "how could you _say_ that? How could you even _think_ that?"_

_Her eyes flew open and her pain was replaced with fury. She leapt up from her chair and faced him, pure rage advertised in every part of her body. Her head was slightly bowed with narrowed eyes._

Okay_, she was thinking, _asked for this.Tell. Him. Everything.

_"How could I think that? How could I _think _that?" She slowly walked towards him, her voice deadly calm. Waves of anger coming off her were practically visible. "I'll tell you. All school year I'm tormented by almost everyone in my class for being a 'dumb blonde' a 'freaking retarded dyslexic' or a 'self-absorbed bratty cheerleader'. People don't even bother to only say it behind my back anymore. Then finally, when the school year ends, I feel a small sense of freedom from them and any embarrassment. _But no_. I have to come here and it continues, just in a different category. Do you _see_, Chiron? It. Never. Stops. For me. I think that should be explanation enough."_

I could feel the color drain from my face. No. This can't be. Jennifer Moore is one of the happiest people I know. How long has this been going on? I shook my head and looked back into Jennifer's mind.

_Chiron stared at her. "I-I'm so sorry," he said. "I had no idea."_

_Jennifer took a deep breath. She shook her head, "It's fine. You didn't know," She wiped a teary eye and gave him a small smile. "If anything, I'm sorry. I just _really_ needed to let that out." She laughed. _

_Chiron cocked his head to one side and gave her a half smile, "I must say, I'm impressed. You hide it all so well."_

_Jennifer shrugged, "Thanks. Now, um, would it be okay if I just went to the bathroom for a second? I don't want to go outside looking like," she gestured to her red, puffy face, "this."_

_He steeped back, "Of course." _

_Jennifer smiled again and walked down the hall to the bathroom. When she entered and closed the door behind her, she sighed and shook her head sadly._

Dude_, I couldn't help thinking to her, _where did_ that _come from?

_The thought didn't faze her. _The heart, bruh_, she thought back._

I laughed. I got a couple strange looks from some of my cabin. Whatever, I don't care.

Chiron was _right_! You do hide that really well! _I thought._

Yeah and I have a strong feeling that I just successfully avoided a bad punishment,_ She smirked into the mirror._ Always remember my friend, three of the world's strongest weapons are fear, pity and pain, but only some know how to wield them.

You have no idea how lucky we are that you aren't evil._ I shook my head._

Damn straight, _Jennifer giggled near silently._ Hey, after I get out of here, meet me at Thalia's tree. I need to tell you something in person.

Kk,_ I thought before slipping out of her mind and back into reality._

—

_**So, how do you like Chapter 2? Leave a review plz!**_

_**Question of the Chapter:**_

_**Who do you like better, Jennifer or Courtney? **_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**_Courtney's P.O.V._**

I was about to finish off the last bit of my PB&J sandwich when someone clapped their hands as loud as possible right in my ear.

"Wha-huh?" I gasped, startled. I turned around to see who it was. "Oh it's just you."

My boyfriend, Brian Johnson was standing behind me, grinning like always. He's a son of Hermes. He as dark brown eyes that are so easy to get lost in it's crazy. His spiky brown hair always makes him look like he just rolled out of bed. His crooked grin, oh my gods, that's the main reason I fell for him. Oh, jeez sorry, I'm swooning.

"Just you?" Brain asked with mock offense, "_That's_ what I've been reduced to? I thought I was more than that babe." He pouted and wiped away a nonexistent tear from his eye.

"Awww, does wittle Bwian need a hug?" I stood up, pouted and opened my arms. He nodded, faked a sniffle and hugged me.

The moment he made contact though, I was scooped off the ground, thrown over Brain's shoulder and carried away from the mess hall. I honestly should have seen it coming, Hermes is the god of thieves.

"Brain!" I screeched, pounding his back, "Put. Me. _Down!_"

He just laughed and ignored me.

"Can you _please_ put me down? I'm begging you."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Cause, Jennifer sent me to get you when you didn't show up at Thalia's tree like she asked." He shrugged, 'accidentally' jabbing me in the stomach with his shoulder.

I admit, that really caught me off-guard. "Wait, _what_?" Just how long had I been eating? I mean, yeah, Kat was telling the _funniest_ story but—

"You heard me, we're going to Thalia's tree and I'm your personal taxi. You're welcome." Brian said, interrupting my thoughts.

I sighed, "Whatever."

When Brain finally put me down, he stole a kiss on my cheek than bolted away.

I shook my head and walked up to Jennifer who didn't exactly look pleased. Her arms were folded across her chest and an eyebrow was cocked, looking for an explanation.

"Sorry I'm late," I shook my head.

"It's fine, whatever," she sighed. "We have more important business to attend to."

"Which is..." I leaned forward a bit, waiting.

"Read. My. Mind." She said simply, pointing to her head.

"Okay then..." I said, but before I could actually try to get into her mind, I was bombarded by a confusing jumble of thoughts that could only have come from the mind of Jennifer Moore.

_OMG so when you were gone beating up Arthur earlier today, ALEX ASKED ME OUT and I didn't know how to respond so I started like STUTTERING but the only problem is I LIKE HIM. Like A LOT, _she thought urgently. _But he stood me stuttering as a 'no' and I seriously need help PLEASE. This is tragic._

"Dude," I had to take a step back to process all of this. "Seriously?"

"You better believe it," Jennifer sighed and looked at the ground. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Simple," I said. "Go find him, apologize for being all stupid and not responding earlier, then _you_ ask _him _out."

Jennifer looked dumbstruck. "Oh my gawds, _duh!"_ She laughed. "Okay, thank you _so_ much, Court. I owe you one."

I laughed, "Jennifer, you owe me like twenty."

"Whatever, luv ya!" She bolted away.

**_Jennifer's P.O.V._**

Omg, Courtney is such a genius, I don't know why she chose me out of all people to be friends with. I smiled, shook my head and kept running until I found Alex, who was sitting on a dock, looking kind of rejected. Oops, I hope it wasn't my fault.

"Hey! Alex," I waved to him, unable to keep the stupid smile off my face. He turned around, gave me a half-hearted wave, then continued staring out onto the water. Oh sh*t, it _was_ my fault!

I jogged down the dock and sat down next to him, "What's wrong?" I asked him.

He shook his head, "Nothing."

"Is this about earlier today? 'Cause I feel really terrible about that. That's why I'm here actually."

Alex gave me a confused look then shook his head and stared back to the ocean. "What do you mean?"

"Look when you asked me out earlier, I was only flustered because I didn't see it coming, even though I _totally_ should've. But I'm pretty sure we both know I'm not exactly the sharpest knife in the box. The thing is, I like you Alex, I like you a lot. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you before, and I was wondering, " I paused, trying to formulate words, "if that offer was still on the table?" I smiled half hopefully, half sheepishly.

Alex's sad expression instantly disappeared and was replaced with a huge smile. "Of course it is!"

I smiled at him just as big and totally bear hugged him. Thank the gods, he hugged me back.

Literally all I could think was,_ OMG YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY I'm taken! I'm flipping taken! Hellz yeah! Best. Day. Ever. By far. _

We pulled back and he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.

"What time is it?" I asked him.

"Uh, am I supposed to know?" He scratched the back of his neck.

"No it's fine," I shook my head, "I was just wondering when I should start getting ready for training."

"Wait, what?" He looked at me.

"I'm in a good mood today, so why not?" I smirked up at him.

"Sweet, what do you have?"

"Um... Chiron said that it was the rock wall with... I don't know who."

Alex just smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer. I sighed and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Hey! Lovebirds! Look over here!" A voice shouted from behind us.

Startled, we whipped around to see Kylie Smith, daughter of Pheme, holding a camera, taking about 10 pictures at a time.

"Ky-_lie,"_ I moaned, "put the camera away."

"Not before I show _everyone_ in the camp." She grinned smugly.

"Kylie, smash the camera on the dock right now," I charm-spoke. I got her to raise the Nikon camera above her head before she came to her senses.

She glared at me and snapped her fingers in a Z-formation, "Oh, guuuurrrrlllll don't you try to charm-speak me or I will-"

"Smash. It. Now." I charm-spoke as strong as I had in awhile. Pouring emotion into my voice while vibeing her to throw it down.

It was really energy-consuming, so I was thankful when she slammed the Nikon to the dock.

A look of shock, anger and hate crawled across her face as my charm-speak began to wear off. "You," she growled, pointing at me, "you made me do this. This is all _your fault_! That camera was _new _you_ spoiled brat!" _

I narrowed my eyes and stood up. "You should've deleted the pictures."

Kylie threw a total fit. Looking back, it was hilarious. She going all-out with stamping feet, ear-piercing screeches and lame insults.

I would've _totally_ stayed to watch her, but

1) there was no popcorn

2) some counselor would probably be coming to see what was up

and

3) Alex grabbed my wrist, muttered, "Shit, bail," and jumped off the dock into the Sound.

An enormous bubble greeted us before we plunged underwater. Thank the gods for it, I didn't exactly need to get sopping wet right now.

Before I knew it, Alex and I were about 12 feet below sea level, lounging inside a bubble, cracking up about Kylie's tantrum.

"And then, and then she was all 'I want a new camera! Buy me the latest version!'" I was laughing so hard that tears started trickling out of my eyes.

Alex kicked and punched the side of the bubble (which surprisingly didn't pop), mimicking her. "MR. D! JENNIFER MADE ME BREAK MY CAMERA! I WAS ONLY TRYING TO RUIN HER REPUTATION! PUNISH HER!"

"Oh my gods, oh my gods, _stop_ I can't breathe!" I said, my sides starting to hurt from laughing.

"Okay," he said, still laughing a little. "We've been down here for like 15 minutes, do you think it's safe to go back up?"

I nodded, "Just not near where she was."

He nodded and started willing our bubble to move south. I will never stop being amazed by Alex's water powers.

_20 minutes later_

"Hey! Bubblehead! Pay attention!" An angry voice jerked me out of my thoughts. I was at the climbing wall with the Athena cabin, subconsciously daydreaming about Alex. I looked around to see who yelled at me. I saw Joseph Pierce, the Athena cabin counselor, looking expectantly at me and pointing up at the climbing wall.

"Oh, sorry," I said quietly. It was my turn and I wasn't paying attention. A couple Athena kids snickered.

"Be ready next time," Joseph huffed.

_Jerk_, I thought, leaping up on the wall. I leapt onto it and scrambled up as high as I could, but someone distracted me before I reached the top.

"Hey Jennifer! Your mascara is running!" Some kid shouted up to me. That earned some snickers from the Athena cabin

I stopped for a second before I remembered that I don't wear makeup. I am probably the least plastic girl in my cabin. Gods, I thought Athena kids were supposed to be smart.

"Oh yeah? I shredded your Harry Potter book!" I yelled back.

Murmurs erupted below me.

'She didn't' one gasped.

'It's _on_!' Another screeched as I smugly climbed to the top of the wall.

When I got back to the bottom, I was greeted by my whole cabin cracking up and the Athena cabin looked ready to tear my limb-from-limb.

"I dumbed your makeup kit into the creek." George Faraway walked up to me.

"Really? Dang it. Too bad I don't wear makeup you _idiot_. Goodness, you'd think that you'd be smart since your mom is the goddess of wisdom and all." I smiled innocently.

"Why you—" he looked like he was going to strangle me.

"You mad, bro?" I challenged, failing to suppress a smirk.

"Hey! Georgie!" My cabin's best charm-speaker, Ashley Smith giggled. "Don't be silly! You know the only thing you want to do right now is run into the climbing wall and get lava poured all over yourself."

"Run into the wall! Run into the wall!" My cabin charm-spoke in unison.

George looked incredibly dazed as he rammed head-first into the rock wall. After that, all Hades broke loose.

I must say, it was pretty awesome. Athena kids get offended so easily. Then again, some of the girls in my cabin do too. We were in the middle of a full-on brawl. Punches were thrown, names were shouted, people were screaming threats like, 'I'm gonna give you a bob' or 'I'm gonna delete your blog'. There was more, but those were my favorites. I was fighting Stacy Lockwood, an Athena girl who was particularly strong. Way stronger than me, at least. I was pinned to the ground, our faces only inches away.

"I know brats like you," she growled. "You think you own the world, but you're all talk. Then the moment something gets physical, you run away. Sorry hunny, but Daddy isn't here to save you this time."

"I don't need him too." I hissed.

"Yeah right," she said, punching me in the gut and knocking the wind out of me.

"Your mother doesn't approve of your actions, sweetie," I barely wheezed.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Just think about it," I smirked at her, "analyze this situation. What does everyone else see? I'll tell you what. They see a bunch of poor kids getting beat up by a bunch of bullies. They don't care if I deserve this or not because all they see is a big brute like you beating up an innocent damsel like me. Just wait until someone comes and we'll see who gets in trouble."

Stacy narrowed her eyes, "Punishment would be equally distributed, fool."

I laughed lightly, "Not exactly. Look around you. Who's winning this fight?"

She glanced around before giving me a smug smile, "Us," then realization dawned on her face. "Uh-oh."

"That's what I thought, _Brain Tumor._"

She gasped, "What did you just call me?"

I giggled, "Nothing."

I swear she was about to rip my head off when someone _finally_ broke up the fight.

"Everybody stop!" Mr. D shouted.

Stacy leaped off me and I made sure I looked totally finished.

"What is going on here?" He screeched.

"I don't know," Ashley's twin sister, Jordan moaned, "one minute everyone is peacefully climbing up the wall, the next, every Athena kid is attacking us and showing no mercy." She let own a small sob, clutching her left arm.

Mr. D looked livid. "Everyone from the Athena cabin, come with me!"

"But—"

"Come. With. Me."

The whole cabin hung their heads and followed him. A couple kids kicked some of us who were still on the ground. I allowed myself a small smile, but only after he left.

**—**

**I'm SO SORRY that it took me this long to update, my mom kicked me off the internet for 183720 days, it was torture. I hope you liked chapter 3! Drop a review and I'll try to update as soon as possible.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I hope you're all having a great new year! Before I start the chapter, I'd just like to give a huge thank-you to all my reviewers:**

**THANK U S'MUCH YOU ARE ALL SO SWAG. I swear I 3 you all thanks so much for your kind reviews and support. I'm not even kidding. You guys are cool. **

**Now… on with the story!**

**_Courtney's P.O.V._**

Nearly everyone in camp was buzzing about one thing the next day: Jennifer Moore. It was crazy.

"Oh my gawds, did you _see_ Jennifer with Alex?! They're _soo_ cute."

"Duude, did you hear? That Aphrodite girl, Jennifer Moore, started a fight with the Athena cabin!"

People who had barely given her a second glance before were flocking her like desperate puppies. I only got half of it.

"Hey! COURTNEY! Oh my gods, you're _sooo _lucky to be friends with Jennifer! She is the coolest person to step foot in here!"

Wait, _what_? Since when? O-o-oh, if I find out that Jennifer cast some sort of weird spell on these poor children, I will personally kill her slowly. Okay, fine. Maybe I'm a little jealous. But come on, one minute she's just as overlooked as the next person, and now Jennifer's getting celebrity treatment? I don't mean to sound selfish, but where am _I_ in this equation? What is _happening_ here? Suddenly, every guy wanted to date her, and every girl wanted to be her. All except for the Athena cabin and a few others. Thank the gods, they had stayed sane.

Lucy Williams, daughter of Athena, was sitting on a bench, staring at the growing crowd surrounding Jennifer looking totally pissed off. I walked over and sat down next to her.

"Hey," I said.

"Do you have _any_ idea at _all_ what is going on with them?" She asked. Classic Lucy, straight to the point.

"Ugh, I wish I did, but I can't get through the crowds to ask Jennifer, and everyone else isn't intelligent enough to answer," I shrugged.

Lucy laughed, "I hear ya."

I smirked, "When do you think," I gestured to the riot surrounding my best friend, "_this_ will wear off?"

"I wish I knew," she shrugged and shook her head. "It better be soon though."

"You've got that right." I agreed, rolling my eyes.

"Did you see her at all before this all happened?"

"Yeah, at like, 2:15."

"Did you notice her acting different in any sort of way?"

"Umm..." I thought for a second. The last time I saw her was at Thalia's tree, when she was asking for advice with Alex. "No, she seemed like her normal, hyperactive self. Why?" I asked.

"Well, I thought I saw her or one of her siblings around 5:00 talking to some kids from your cabin, so I thought you might know what was up."

I blinked at her in surprise. "Wait, who exactly did you see her talking to?" I asked.

"Hmm, uh I think it was JJ and Kat."

I groaned, "Yup, this is definitely some kind of spell or something," I stood up. "I'll be right back."

0~0~0~0

I threw the door of the Hecate cabin and stormed inside. "JEFFERY JONATHAN WALTERS AND KATHERINE ANNE DAVIDSON COME HERE RIGHT NOW!" I barked. I wasn't exactly Hecate's head counselor, but when I put my mind to it, I could scare a few select people.

In less than 5 seconds, JJ and Kat were standing in front of me, up straight, arms folded behind their backs, and eyes wide. Wow, I must be scarier than I thought.

I crossed my arms over my chest, "You have 3 minutes to explain _exactly_ what the heck is going on with everyone."

Kat looked like she was ready to get on her knees and beg for mercy. The rising 8th grader's emerald green eyes were full of guilt, shame and fear.

Before she spilled though, JJ slapped his hand over her mouth. He cocked his head, "What do you mean?" He asked.

I turned my head towards him—slowly, for a higher scare factor—and bored straight into his eyes, "I have a feeling you know what I'm talking about. Actually, I have a feeling you two are the reason we are having this discussion."

"Um, uhh..." He gulped, uncovered Kat's mouth and began tugging at his shirt collar. "Did it just get hot in here?" He laughed nervously.

"No, I think the room just got _colder_," I concentrated on using the Mist to make the room temperature drop about 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit. Ugh, I'm sorry if I'm starting to freak you out, it's just _so_ annoying when people cast a weird spell on the whole camp making them obsessed with your best friend, you know?

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Kat—who had always been terrible at keeping secrets–started shaking, her eyes beginning to prickle with tears. "She made us! She blackmailed us!"

"_Who_ blackmailed you, exactly?" I asked, fighting to stay angry at them. Well, at Kat, at least. JJ was easy to be pissed at.

"C-Casey!" She cried. "S-she cornered us a-and kept telling us that she would rat us out unless we did what she told us to do!"

I cocked my head, confused, "If Casey Johnson was behind this, why did she make everyone obsessed with Jennifer rather than her? She _hates_ Jennifer!" I exclaimed.

"That's what I said!" Kat nodded her head vigorously. "But she was all like," she mimicked a squeaky, high-pitched 'girly' voice, "'It's none of your business!' And I was like, 'uh, it kind of is...' But she was all, 'just do it or all tell everyone!'"

"What was she blackmailing you with?" I asked them.

"Umm," JJ cleared his throat, "...nothing." He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot.

I raised an eyebrow and gave them a 'seriously?' look. "C'mon guys. The only reason she's able to blackmail you is because you regret whatever you did. Besides, I think we both know, I'm pretty good when it comes to secrets."

"Okay, fine. I'll tell you," JJ looked left and right to make sure no one was watching. Then, out of nowhere, he snatched my hand and Kat's, "just not here." With that, we teleported out of the cabin.

Teleporting hasn't always been my favorite form of travel. Mainly, because I can't do it myself. If I tried, it would take a whole lot of effort and I would barely move a yard from where I was standing. Also, I look like a complete idiot. Like, my face gets all red and scrunched up, my knuckles are always white with tension and, to make it worse, I need to hold my breath for too long. Destiny says I look constipated.

Some people complain about the sensation you get while teleporting. It feels weird, I admit. It feels like you're being sucked up into a momentary nothingness, then shot out hopefully wherever you were aiming for. It's kinda cool if you ask me.

Kat, JJ and I popped up on the roof of the Big House. Kat and I stumbled a little bit out of surprise.

"Soo," I prompted them after I regained my balance. "What did you guys do that was so terrible that you were blackmailed into putting some freak spell on the whole camp?"

JJ gulped. "Okay, okay," he mumbled to himself. He looked up at me. "Remember when Chiron got dyed pink and no one fessed up to it? WellthatwasmeandKatbutpleasedonttellanyonebecausewe_will_getmurderedpleaseee." JJ blurted out so quickly I could barely understand him.

I blinked. "Dude, _what_? No way!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "You two could be legends! Why would you let someone blackmail you with that?"

Kat shifted from foot to foot. "Because Chiron would punish us. Did you _see_ how mad he was that day?"

I couldn't help but snicker into my hands. "Yeah, that was hilarious. But guys, you still need to lift this spell. I'm not sure how you cast it, but you two better know how to fix this because I don't and I'm pretty sure you have five minutes before this kind of fame goes to Jennifer's head. Good luck," I said, beginning to climb down from the roof.

I'll admit, I was a little worried that they might not be able to fix everyone. Sadly, if they couldn't, I would lose my best friend for sure. I mean, Jennifer is really faithful when it comes to friends and stuff, but it's only natural for her to make friends with 'cooler' people and let popularity go to her head when she gets the chance. The worst part is, if that ended up happening, I- I don't know what I'd have.

I bit my lip and fought back petty tears. _Little wimp,_ I told myself, _stop thinking like that! She would never leave you that quickly!_

I couldn't help but let a prickly tear slip down my cheek as I ran away to the strawberry fields, where I usually go to think.

Out of nowhere, a strong head grabbed my bicep. I gasped and suppressed a scream when I turned to see who it was.

"Brian," I smiled, "what's up?"

"Nothing," he gave me a crooked grin and I tried not to swoon. "I missed you babe."

I sighed. "You're so cheesy," I clasped my hands behind his neck and pulled him a millimeter closer to me. With all these new feelings and fears about Jennifer and everything starting to well up inside of me, I needed something to calm me down just a little.

Brian took the hint and kissed me softly, his hands snaking around my waist. With that, everything else seemed to melt away. Some kids at camp find it a little hard to believe that children of Hermes can be gentle. I guess it makes sense with the whole 'god of thieves' bit, but they can be all cute and romantic when they want to be. I gave a small sigh into the kiss and he smirked against my lips, pulling me closer.

I pulled away and we pressed our foreheads together, smiling. The moment was perfect, peaceful and almost everything I could've wished for right then.

Of course, my jokester boyfriend had to go and ruin it. "Luv yew bæ." He said, copping the most ridiculous, forced voice crack _ever_. I threw my head back and laughed. Brian looked up at me, smirking triumphantly.

When I finally stopped cracking up, I looked at him. "Did you _seriously_ just call me 'bæ'?"

"Yup," he threw me up and clasped his hands under my thighs. I wrapped my legs around his waist. "Do you have a problem with that?"

I giggled. "Maybe, maybe not," I grabbed him by the back of his head and kissed him hard. I tangled my hands in his hair and just for the fun of it, I started to read his mind.

_Oh my gods_, he was thinking._ I love you so much Courtney, more than any—_

"Hey Lovebirds! _Smiillee!_"

These people _always_ seem to find a way to pop up at the worst times. Like seriously, do kids _practice_ this stuff?

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Question of the chapter:**

**If you were a demigod, who would you guess your godly parent was?**

**Leave a review, I love my readers!**

**Bu-bye,**

**Skyhigh**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**_Courtney's P.O.V._**

Brian straight-up dropped me. I gasped as I landed and shot an angry look up at him.

"What the frick, man?" I said, brushing leaf off my arm. I waved him off before he could respond. I listened to see if whoever was stalking us was still here. I narrowed my eyes when I saw a figure attempt to hide away under a clump of strawberries.

"Arthur," I grumbled, standing up. I cracked my neck and clenched my fists. Gods, is it possible for ANYONE from the Pheme cabin to cut me some slack and leave me alone?

Even before this wacko spell was cast on the camp, they were all SO obsessed with me, Jennifer, Alex, Brian, and Destiny Miller, this SUPER funny, black Demeter girl. That's my whole clique.(We call ourselves ταηχ,((literally only because it looks cool)) but that's not important) Why us? Who knows. Maybe we're gonna grow up to be celebrity demigods and they want to get the latest gossip about us first. I mean, I would be _more_ than fine with growing up to be a celebrity, but for now? Just… chill for a minute.

Brian grabbed my arm before I could pummel Arthur for the second time today. He gave me a look, telling me to read his mind.

'_Let me handle this_,' he was thinking. '_Beating up annoying, eavesdropping little pricks is the _dude's_ job in a relationship, remember?'_

On any other occasion, I would've only agreed to let Brian fight beside me, but I could see in the back of his mind, he was thinking about how beautiful and amazing I was and how I was his perfect ideal girlfriend. Also, as I've told you before, his crooked grin is my weakness.

I nodded and stepped out of his way. I may or may not have been swooning like a lovesick puppy, but I'm not sure.

Unfortunately, I probably was, because Brian grinned even wider as he walked passed me.

He turned to Arthur, who was barely able to try to make a getaway before he was grabbed by his shirt and yanked backwards. Since Arthur is one of the most uncoordinated demigods I know, he fell right to the ground. Then, Brian pulled a roll of black duct tape out of who-knows-where and fastened it around Arthur's head before he started screaming bloody murder.

Arthur glared at him as he tried(and failed, might I add) to pull the tape loose. Brian used Arthur's hesitation to take a free shot at his gut, making him double over and moan through the tape. He quickly recovered and took a weak shot at my boyfriend's face.

Brian almost laughed before pinning the poor kid to the ground and totally wailing him. As much as I despise Arthur, I still hate seeing people get beat up. I know, I'm _such_ a hypocrite. I literally pummel people all the time, but that didn't stop me from biting my lip and looking away.

Not even 30 seconds later, I had involuntarily zoned out and was completely captivated by the stars in the night sky.

_So many..._, I thought, _like little diamonds sprinkled in the sky_.

Tonight, however, I noticed more than the usual few. The amount seemed to have doubled—no, _tripled_—from the last time I saw them.

I was staring up, trying to sort through the glittering lights, when a hand tapped my shoulder.

"Hurry, we have to get out of here," Brian's voice jerked me back to the present. I looked down at Arthur, who now could've easily qualified as a duct tape mummy, was lying under a strawberry bush, possibly unconscious. My eyes widened a little, then I nodded to Brian and we bolted off.

**_Jennifer's P.O.V._**

I must say, extreme popularity can be cute and flattering at first, but gods, it gets old fast. I'm literally being mobbed by a bunch of kids who either want my autograph or others, who want a freaking lock of my hair.

Please. Help me. I can feel the camp-wide 'fame' already going to my head. I've subconsciously began to treat people like dirt and I'm blatantly ignoring so many kids at a time, I feel like _such_ a jerk. Make it stop. I don't want this.

I feel like I'm betraying my friends. Whenever one of them try to get near me, they would literally get thrown 20 feet backwards. I'm not just betraying them, I'm losing them completely. I _know_ they feel like I don't care about them enough to try and stop this insane mobbing torture. They're trust in me is waning. I would get to them if I could, but when I tried, everybody formed a human wall to make sure I didn't escape. The last time I tried, I could've sworn I felt an electric zap.

No form of charm-speak is working. I can't take it anymore. All my life, I've happily flown under the radar. Now, I can't even breathe without everyone around me staring at me like they expect some kind of elaborate speech on global warming or something.

I can't take it. Someone make it stop. I can feel myself changing, and I don't think I'm going to like the end result.

My knees buckled and I fell to the ground. I cried into my hands. Once the tears started, they didn't stop.

"Please," I begged the campers between sobs. "Let things go back to normal. I don't want this. I beg of you."

Everyone stopped bombing me with weirdo questions and looked at each other. Then they turned back to me. "No," they snapped in unison. That's when everyone started to close in on me. I screamed.

**_Alex's P.O.V._**

What was up with everyone obsessing over Jennifer? I mean, I get where they're coming from. Jennifer is great. She's beautiful, funny, _real_(unlike most of her siblings), and with just the right amount of criminal mixed in there. No matter what she says, Jennifer Moore is flawless in my book.

The only real problem is, whenever I'd try to sift through the mob to get to Jennifer, whoever I was close to would pick me up and throw me backwards. I may be only imagining this, but I'm pretty sure I felt an electric shock the last few times I tried.

I was about to throw myself into the crowd again, when I heard a voice behind me shout, "Stop!"

I turned around to see Courtney and Brian running towards me. "What is it?" I asked.

She put her hands on my shoulders and stared into my eyes. "Everyone here is under a spell. Why were we spared? Why would someone want to cast a spell like this? I don't know. All we know is it was cast by JJ and Kat because Casey Johnson blackmailed them into it."

"Why would Casey make everyone obsessed with Jennifer rather than herself? I thought she hated Jennifer." I cocked my head.

"That's exactly what I said!" Courtney threw her hands up in surrender. "Honestly, you never know what will happen next when it comes to an Aphrodi—"

She was cut off by an ear-splitting scream. We all whipped around to see Jennifer's crowd of admirers closing in on her. Volts of pure energy coursed between each kid.

Brian gulped. "Well... this may or may not be a problem."

Courtney turned around and slapped him in the face. "Shut up and help me figure out a plan to save her!"

I blinked, it takes a lot to make Courtney lash out at you. "Why don't we just, you know, wing it? We don't exactly have time to strategize."

"Guys!" Suddenly, Destiny Miller was hovering behind us. "I think I know how to get her out of there,"

"Destiny, thank the gods you're here." Courtney sighed in relief. "It feels good to have another intelligent mind within a 10 foot radius of me."

Destiny smirked and flipped her dark, kinky hair. "I know right? But whatever, we need to save Jennifer."

"You were saying something before, what was it?" I asked.

"Oh! Right. Do you guys see all that electric energy around everyone? Yeah, if we want to stop them, I hate to say it, but we're gonna need to dump a lot of water on them all."

Brian glanced back at the mob, almost covering Jennifer now. "So you're saying… we need to electrocute them?"

She bit her lip and nodded. "Harmony is in there. The last time I saw her, she was totally obsessed already. It was like I didn't even know her anymore," Destiny squeezed her eyes shut, thinking about her older sister. She swallowed. "But I won't let Jennifer stay stuck in that freaking mob," She turned to me, her huge brown eyes full of worry, fear and hope. "Just don't drown them enough to kill anyone, okay?"

I nodded gravely. "Okay guys. Let's get this over with."

**_Jennifer's P.O.V._**

Oh no. They're closing in. I'm crouched down, barely my feet, trying to stay away from everyone at the same time. Where are Chiron and Mr. D in this mess? Are they just absently playing 'Go Fish' while I'm literally about to die?

Help. Help. Help. Somebody—anybody—help me. Please.

"Stop," I tried to meet the eyes of some of the kids. "Why are you attacking me? Please, stop."

_'I have to get out of here. I _have_ to get out of here,'_ was all I could think.

My fellow campers ignored me and kept slowly creeping forwards, hands extended, palms crackling with electricity.

"Help," I whispered, praying to no god in particular, looking up to the sky as tears streamed down my face.

**_Destiny's P.O.V._**

Okay, so apparently, that bitch Casey Johnson is trying to destroy Jennifer Moore. No surprise, she hired someone to do her dirty work. Gods, when I get my hands on her… whatever, I'll kill—I mean _handle_ her later. Now, we just need to save Jennifer.

Thanks to my more than flawless attack idea, within five seconds, I had come up with this:

Courtney- attempt to raise the spell to slow the campers down a little bit

Me- call a bunch of stems & shit come out of the ground to try & trip them

Alex- make a huge wave come out of who-knows-where and dump it on everybody under the spell

Brian- Uhh, you can… watch(?)

Brian huffed at my comment. "Very funny, Des. C'mon, what can I do?"

The only problem, was getting on Brian's nerves wasn't my only reason for saying that I wasn't sure what he could do. I honestly had no idea what to make him do. Luckily, I was saved by the bell.

"Oh!" Courtney snapped her fingers. "Brian, you can catch Jennifer when everyone is all knocked out. There's no doubt that she'll try to make a break for it."

"I'll take that," he shrugged.

Thank the gods for Courtney Webb, because I _definitely_ would've made Bri-guy play a hardcore Left Bench if she wasn't here.

Alex nodded. "Let's roll."

**_Jennifer's P.O.V._**

Children were closing in around me so tightly, that I couldn't see anything but them and their electric hands. They were poking me, singing the hairs on my arms and blistering my skin. I knew it wouldn't be long until they would five-star me to death.

I was sobbing uncontrollably now. Why is this happening? Who would do this to me?

_Casey would_, I realized. But I didn't think she hated me so much to kill me! I don't even know how we're related a lot of the time.

How would she be able to make everyone at Camp Half-Blood try to kill me? She wouldn't. Her charm-speak isn't that powerful and I would be able to hear her if she was anyway.

I glanced at one of my attackers, trying to decipher a face. Kelly Sanchez, daughter of Apollo was standing before me, threatening to jab me in the shoulder.

'_No_,' I thought, '_Kelly has always been so… peaceful. She wouldn't do this to me, or to anyone for that matter_.'

I blinked back tears and fought to turn around. Doug Romero, son of Ares was towering over me. My eyes opened wider. We had never exactly been on the best terms with each other. It wouldn't take much imagination to see him punching my face in, with or without this freak spell or whatever. His fist was pulled back, cracking and white, ready to nail me in the stomach.

I closed my eyes, bit my lip and looked away. There was no doubt that this would kill me. Tears prickled under my eyelids. I never thought this is how I'd go down. I always assumed I'd die of old age or something. I covered my face in my hands and prepared for one hella hard punch.

It didn't come. Suddenly everything was wet. I looked up, confused. Everyone was lying around me. They were all knocked out, some spazzing a little and still crackling.

'_Run, run run!_' My brain screamed. '_Get the fuck out of there!'_

For the first time in forever, my feet listened. I bolted forward, towards the camp boundaries. I was going faster than I ever had before. I didn't even know it was possible for me to go at this speed.

A strong hand grabbed my arm. Oh no! Were those kids still conscious? I screamed and slapped it off of me, not even bothering to look at who it was.

I started to run faster. I wasn't faster than most of those kids, and if they were awake… gods I'm screwed.

"Jennifer! Wait!" A voice called from behind me.

I sucked in a breath. That sounded just like Alex. No, no, no. Please don't tell me he's under this spell too! I couldn't bring myself to even look over my shoulder. If he was standing there, my heart would shatter like glass.

'_It's not him_,' I told myself. '_Just keep going, get away from them._' I tucked my head into my chest, shook my head and kept going.

Soon, I was standing in the middle of a road in front of a strawberry field. So I did the natural thing. I traveled the road north, towards Manhattan.

I ran, and ran, and didn't stop until I found a public bench in the center of the city. The moment I sat down on the cool metal, I noticed just how tired I was… and how public the city was on this particular Tuesday… and how I looked like a total mess.

"Damn it," I muttered, looking down at myself. My arms and legs were covered in blisters and PAIN. My camp shirt was still readable, but totally ruined. It may still pass as fashionable today, but I have no reason to take any chances. Also, my shirt literally, clearly reads, 'Camp Half-Blood'. If any form of monster happened to spot me, I was toast.

I stood up and tried to 'casually' keep my arms folded across my chest(no, nothing was burned away there, thank the gods) to cover the words.

It took me about 15 minutes to find an Abercrombie & Fitch on the twisting streets of Manhattan.

I'm sorry, I'm by all means, not a New Yorker. I was born here, but my stepmom thought that it was a fabulous idea to move to the suburbs in Jersey when I was five. I know right? Like, great thinking, Brenda! Now, if I ever hang out with my camp friends and go into town, I need a flipping map while they're walking around with their eyes closed. Destiny will never stop making fun of me for it. Gods, Brenda will do literally _anything_ to piss me off. No matter how freaking _perfect_ I was as a baby child, she'll always find a way to make me look bad.

I rolled my eyes and plucked a cute white T-shirt that said—it took my dyslexic eyes a minute to figure out— 'c'est la vie' in black script.

'It's the life,' I nodded my approval. I glanced at the price tag. Sweet! It was on clearance for $12.99. I slapped my pants, feeling for any cash. Nothing.

Gods! The one time I leave my emergency cash in my pillowcase, I actually need it. I groaned before I remembered there was one other was that I could get this shirt. Call me a betch, but I swear, this is for my safety as a demigod.

I walked over to the cash register. Standing behind it was a boy my age with a red buzz cut. Cute, if I was into that. I smiled at him anyway as I handed him the shirt.

He eyed my CHB attire skeptically. "Where'd ya get that?" He asked slowly.

I looked down at my shirt as if I'd forgotten what I had put on this morning. "Oh—ha!—that's just an inside joke with my friend," I smiled flirtatiously at him and leaned my elbows down on the counter, "Connor," I said, reading him name tag.

Connor glanced down, and I'm not sure if he was looking at my shirt anymore. Ew, perv. He gulped then fought to meet my eyes. "What happened?" He tried for a laugh and he cocked his head.

"OMG, it was the funniest thing ever!" I jumped a little, hoping to distract him a little while I made something up. Have I ever mentioned that I'm a compulsive liar? Anyway, it worked. Well. Gods, this kid is disgusting. "So my friend, Nina, oh my god she's soo funny," I said, leaning back down onto the counter and making sure I made 'god' singular. "So Nina, one day, me, her and Gigi were going to the—whatdoyacallit—mall. And Nina was all 'ladies, let's go to Starbuckss!" I purposely slurred then giggled. "Then Gigi was all, 'omg Nina, you go there so often, I bet your half frappicino!' Then I was all 'yeah, I bet double chocolatey-chip runs through your veins!' Then we all started cracking up. Then we went to Starbucks and created a place for people like Nina to go so the don't feel alone."

By now I was seriously cracking up. Every part of me was shaking with laughter. "So now— so now we all have to wear this shirt every Friday," I threw that one in there to see if he was paying attention.

"Yeah, yeah that's cool," Connor nodded absently. Then he blinked and looked up at me. "Here's your shirt."

"Ooh! Thanks!" I giggled, taking the bag from him. "See you later, Connor!" Then I turned and bounced out of the store.

As soon as I was outside, I bolted into the subway in search of a bathroom. Luckily, I found one almost right away. I ran into it and threw myself into a stall.

The moment I locked the door, I ripped off my CHB shirt and stuffed it in the toilet. I know, I hate doing it myself, but this is for my survival and nothing else. I flushed the shirt, put on my new one, then left the stall. I looked into the mirror and sighed. One of the traits Aphrodite kids have is we can change our appearance at will. We don't do it often because

a) it is excruciatingly painful and

b) it takes a really long time. I guess if any monsters happened to spot me before now, they would recognize me when I reappeared in the streets of New York.

_Okay_, I thought. _Let's see what features I have now._

1. Big, dark blue eyes

2. Waist-length wavy blonde hair

3. Ski-slope nose

4. Oval face

5. Mid-to-high cheekbones

6. Tan skin

7. No freckles

8. Full lips

I didn't bother thinking about changing my height or figure because it would take hours. Besides, you recognize people by their face, not their elbows.

Okay, new city, new look. How about…

1. Normal sized, light brown eyes

2. Shoulder-length straight black hair

3. Button nose

4. Oval face

5. Mid-to-high cheekbones

6. Pale skin

7. Lots of freckles

8. Thin lips

Perfect. The only part that really hurt was changing my eye shape from big to normal.

I looked left and right. The bathroom was empty, so I turned to the mirror and focused on my eyes.

_Normal sized… normal sized…_, I thought heavily. Then the command sunk in. Immense pain struck my eyes sockets as the bones reshaped. I bit my lip to keep from screaming.

"Stay focused," I muttered, staring harder into my eyes. _Light brown… light brown…_

Just as my new eye shape settled, my irises began to change color. This part doesn't hurt at all, thank the gods. You may have heard of people with 'color changing eyes'; yeah, they're children of Aphrodite. The reason all my siblings don't have it, is because this specific appearance-changing trait is incredibly rare. For instance, most Hephaestus kids can't control fire, but a select few can. I smiled at my new eye color. The brown almost looked caramel-y

Next, I looked at my hair. _Black…_, I thought, _black…._

Then, a shimmering ripple swept through my hair, blonde sinking into black as it passed. _Shoulder length…_ _shoulder length…_ Another ripple ran down my hair, tickling a little then evaporating any hair past my shoulders.

I changed my nose from a ski-slope to a button. It only felt as bad as when you squeeze the bridge of your nose really hard.

Okay, now there was no way in Hades I was changing my cheekbones or my face shape. One- it would literally feel like I was being burned alive, and Two- it'd take too long.

I looked down at my arm and willed my skin to grow lighter, and lighter until I was pale as a sheet and peppered with brown freckles. Changing your skin tone tickles a lot. It takes serious self control not to laugh so hard you turn your flab into abs.

I stared back into the mirror at my lips. I pursed them then imagined them growing thinner and thinner. When they finished, I smiled, checking that I still had mobility. I grinned wider when I saw that I did.

I stood up a little straighter and walked out of the bathroom. I sighed to myself as I climbed the stairs back up to the street.

'_What am I still doing here?_' I thought. '_Oh, right. Everyone in my demigod safe haven was tried to kill me_,' I hung my head a little. I could really go for some thing yummy right now. Maybe I could raid Dylan's Candy Bar or something.

I shook my head, dismissing the thought and plopped myself down on a public bench. I swear, I wouldn't be surprised at all if I found out that Hermes was some kind of great-great-grandpappy of mine.

I sat there for awhile, looking around. Here I was, a demigod, sitting in public like a normal person. No monsters attempting to kill me, no one breathing down my neck about how much danger I was in. I felt— free. Pshh, wait'll I tell Chiron, he'd surely blow up. I smiled to myself.

I was so happy that I didn't even notice a petite woman sit down next to me.

"I like your shirt, dearie," she piped up.

"Oh, wha- thank you," I said, startled. "I love your purse, is that Louis Vuitton?"

"Why yes it is! You must know an awful lot about fashion, now don't you, sweetheart?"

"Yeah," I laughed. "Today's latest trends are pretty much my life. I practically live Vogue magazine."

The old woman chuckled. "But Jennifer Moore, daughter of love, there is one other thing I must ask you."

"Huh? How do you know my name?" I backed away from her a little.

She didn't say anything. The old woman bored into my eyes, and her pupils suddenly became slitted, like a snake's. Before I could scream, run away, or at least break eye contact, she grabbed my wrist with uncharacteristic strength and everything went black.

**_Destiny's P.O.V._**

One job… he had _one job_…

**OMG I just had a psychological breakthrough. So if a PJO hater/movie fan walks up to you & starts being all annoying with PJO-related stuff you can literally yell at them "YOU'RE/STOP BEING SUCH A NANCY BOBOFIT." then run away. If they're a boy, you can call them Octavian if you want though. The beauty of it, is there is no way that they'd have any idea that they've been 3rd-degree burned at all and the whole fandom has your back like "oooooohhhh" & they'd be like "I don't get it" after they've just been publicly humiliated.**

**Question of the Chapter:**

**If you had the choice, would you have Brian or Alex as your boyfriend?**

**Leave a review, I love my readers!**

**Bu-bye,**

**Skyhigh**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**_Alex's P.O.V._**

Why did she slap me away?

Why did she keep running when I told her to stop?

Doesn't she trust me?

How come she didn't even look back?

Why did she cross the boarder?

Why didn't I chase after her?

Why did no one try to stop her?

Where is she now?

Is she okay?

Is she hurt?

Captured?

_Dead?_

I clenched my fists and the water below the dock churned and swelled into a whirlpool. I couldn't afford to think like that. Brian, Courtney, Destiny and I had already tried to go after her multiple times, but either Chiron had stopped us, or we couldn't bring ourselves to do it.

After I dumped like 100 gallons of water on those campers, the spell was broken. They all woke up an hour later, confused and dizzy. It turns out that Chiron and Mr. D were peacefully sleeping while a freaking riot unfolded outside their bedroom windows.

"Like… what even?" I could almost hear Jennifer saying.

Jennifer… gods where is she? Please don't tell me she's hurt. Or captured. Or dead. _Please_ don't tell me she's dead.

Who am I kidding? She's not dead! Jennifer Moore is _wayy_ too stubborn to die. If someone was holding a knife against her throat, she'd probably slap their hand away and bomb them with lame jokes and so much sass that her attacker would commit suicide.

I laughed to myself. That girl has no chill. Probably because she doesn't think at all.

One time, I remember, she wore her camp shirt backwards all day and she didn't notice. When I told her, she tried to play it cool and said, 'Oh that? I'm just setting a new trend. Do you like it?'

Another time, me and the rest of ταηχ were playing truth or dare, and Destiny dared her to climb onto the roof of the Big House and wave to everyone. She took it to the next level. Jennifer literally climbed onto the roof, screamed at the top of her lungs 'I BELIEVE I CAN FLY,' then jumped off and landed in the bushes, screaming all the way down. She got away with it with five cuts, a bruise and—get this—NO PUNISHMENT.

Then she dared Brian and Courtney to kiss, which started their everlasting relationship.

_~Flashback~_

_The night sky was clear, millions of stars glistening in the dark. The five of us were sitting in a circle on the far side of the lake. _

_"Okay," Destiny glanced around the circle. "Jennifer, truth or dare?"_

_Jennifer sighed and muttered, "I really hate this game," before picking dare._

_Destiny grinned, "I dare you to climb up onto the roof of the Big House and wave to everyone."_

_She rolled her eyes then glared at her. "Whatever, let's go," she said as she stood up._

_0~0~0~0_

_Jennifer, still pissed at Destiny, began slowly climbing up the ladder we had set up in the side of the House. The moment she reached the top, though, the ladder was folded up and thrown down into the grass._

_Her eyes widened. "How am I supposed to get down?" She screeched._

_Destiny's eyes glimmered mischievously. "That's for me to know, and you to not." _

_"Γμώτο!" She stomped her foot, "Damn it!_"

_The daughter of Demeter giggled and ran away._

_Jennifer clenched her fists and glared after her. That glare slowly began to turn thoughtful, then faded into something that could easily be read as 'payback'. _

_She turned and faced the back of the House. She bellowed, "I BELIEVE I CAN FLYY-_AHH!" _She screamed as she leapt off the roof._

_We were all too stunned to move before we heard her land with a _thud_._

_I bolted to where the noise had come from to see if she was okay._

Oh my gods, we are in sooo much trouble!_ I thought frantically as I sifted through the bushes, searching for her._

_A small giggle came from behind me as a feminine hand was placed on my shoulder, one finger at a time. "Looking for me?" Jennifer smiled seductively as she turned me around._

_I stared at her, finding myself unable to reply. I was under her spell. I could already feel drool beginning to pile up behind my lip, ready to spill over at any second. Her long blond hair was shimmering in the moonlight. Her deep blue eyes were glittering with mischief. Her smile was fantabulous and flawless._

_Wait. _Fantabulous_? Okay, there was no way that these were my thoughts. I half closed my eyes skeptically and folded my arms across my chest. I opened my mouth to accuse her, but Jennifer cut me off._

_"She said 'fantabulous' again, didn't she," Jennifer rolled her eyes, clearly referring to her mother. "That woman never learns. Whatever, Gills, we need to get out of here," she said, snatching my wrist and pulling me away from the House with Courtney, Destiny and Brian not far behind us._

_0~0~0~0_

_When we finally stopped, we were all standing somewhere in the forest, panting like dogs._

_"What were you thinking?" Destiny hissed._

_Jennifer giggled(is she ever not?). "I wasn't. But guys, you have to admit, in like, 3 weeks, this is gonna be funny as Hades."_

_"We are soo caught," Courtney groaned._

_"Nahh, we're good. Chiron won't come this far to look for me," she smiled and shrugged._

_"I'm going to kill you later," Destiny growled._

_"Whatever, let's just get back to the game." Courtney said, waving her off and beginning to herd us back to the far side of the lake._

_0~0~0~0_

_"Ok, Jennifer, it's your turn to pick," Brian nodded to her and sat down._

_After a moment's thought, the daughter of love smirked and said, "Courtney, truth or dare."_

_Courtney looked momentarily confused at her friend's evil expression, but after (I'm guessing) reading her mind, her eyes widened. "No."_

_"Yes," Jennifer grinned wider._

_"You're not gonna put me through this."_

_"Who's stopping me?"_

_"You are truly diabolical."_

_"Thank you."_

_"Poopy head."_

_"Butt face._

_"Dork pie!"_

_"Silly head!"_

_Courtney gasped._

_"What is happening?" Destiny looked at them strangely._

_"She," Courtney pointed angrily at Jennifer, whose smile was mockingly dreamy, "is trying to put me in an awkward situation."_

_"I'm not _trying_, sweetie. I _am_," she batted her eyelashes like a betch. "C'mon, just answer. Truth or dare?"_

_The daughter of Hecate narrowed her eyes hatefully. "Dare," she muttered._

_"I dare you to kiss your crush," Jennifer laughed triumphantly. _

_"Yeah, yeah. Shut up," she crossed her arms and huffed._

_Destiny's eyes bugged. "Yup, that makes sense."_

_"I-I don't get it," Brian said, his cheeks slightly red."What's the big deal? Court, you could like go up to him in a disguise or something."_

_Courtney shot her best death glare to Jennifer, who was now laughing hysterically. It was hard to tell in the moonlight, but I'm pretty sure Courtney's face was redder than Jennifer's lips._

_Wait what? Damn. Aphrodite's getting in my head again. I shook my head and leaned towards Jennifer._

_"What's happening?" I whispered in her ear._

_"I'm gonna tell him," she smirked, holding Courtney's glare._

_"Don't you dare," She growled. _

_Yeah, we've been quoting Frozen since before it came out._

_"Who cares? We're all gonna find out in like, two minutes."_

_"Fine," Courtney muttered._

_Jennifer turned to me and nodded, telling me to lean closer. She cupped her soft hands around my ear and whispered, "Courtney likes your best friend."_

What_? I thought for a second. _Ohhh_._

_I blinked before saying, "So what?"_

_"SO WHAT?!" All three girls screeched._

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Jennifer asked, exasperated._

_I leaned towards her ear and whispered, "He likes her back."_

_"Oh my gods that's sooooo cute! This ship is totally gonna sail. All because of me! OMGs OMGs OMGs!" She smiled so wide that her wide eyes were forced shut. She violently shook her hands and she sounded close to breathless._

_Courtney raised an eyebrow before getting the message. Her brown eyes lit up and she immediately planted one on Brian's cheek._

_Brian, on the other hand, was still trying to register what was happening. "Uhm," he gulped. "Jennifer, what are you doing?"_

_The daughter of Aphrodite immediately stopped whatever it was she was doing and looked at him, dead serious. "I'm fangirling," she said. "Give me a minute," before a wide grin crawled back onto her face and she resumed 'fangirling'. _

_Then, she started doing the weirdest thing. Which is saying a lot, because I just saw her 'fangirl'. She started trembling and she kept saying something like 'ship' faster than humanly possible._

_Destiny raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" She asked. "You look like you're having a freaking seizure." Leave it to Destiny to never sugarcoat anything._

_Courtney was rubbing her temples, trying to suppress a blush. "I thought I told you, no shipping in public."_

_"Yeah, but you guys are my clique. No judgments among friends, right?" said Jennifer, who had calmed herself down too hysterical giggles._

_"Whoever told you that was lying," Destiny muttered, absentmindedly making a dandelion float around in her palm._

_"Jennifer," I said, turning face towards me. "Look at me. Calm. Down," I told her, somehow holding her intense stare._

_Slowly, her deep blue eyes softened and her breathing evened out until she had collected herself enough to pout and say, "Fine, but only because you were nice about it," she turned back to everyone and slapped her hand on my shoulder. "Do you see this everybody? He is being a good, genuine person while dealing with my… different–ness. You know what? Alexander, you are now my favorite person here, kay?" She turned to me and raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for me to accept._

_I smirked at her. "It would be an honor," I said, earning a laugh. I'll never admit it, but I love the way she says my full name. _Alexander_. Don't ask me why, I just do._

_Destiny faked a cough. "Kiss-up!" _

_Brian and Courtney said nothing, they were too caught up in muttering and giggling amongst themselves. _

_~End Flashback~_

"I knew I'd find you here," someone nudged my shoulder, startling me.

"Yeah…," I said absently, recognizing Destiny's voice.

"Hey! Alex? You in there?" She waved her hand in front of my face and knocked on the side of my head.

I shook my head and looked at her. "What is it?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You know why I'm here. How are you? Like… with Jennifer and stuff?"

My eyes dropped a little and I looked back onto the water. "I'm… fine."

Destiny laughed. "Alex, you are such a bad liar. C'mon, what's on your mind? You can tell me."

I blinked at her and smirked. "Who are you and what have you done with Destiny Miller? You don't _have_ feelings."

She pouted and lightly punched me in the arm. "Stop trying to change the subject. How are you taking this? Courtney is a hot mess, but she has Brian there to comfort her. You don't. If there's anything at all you need, you can tell me," she repeated.

"I-I'm worried about her," I admitted. "I don't want her to get hurt."

Destiny nodded. "I feel you. But remember, Jennifer like—_doesn't_ die. It's like, physically impossible for her to get hurt unless she wants to."

I laughed. "Yeah, I was just thinking about how she jumped off the Big House."

"Oh my gods, yes!" She laughed. "And she literally stood up and walked it off. Then here I am, like _dying_ when I stub my toe."

"Remember when she swiped Casey's sword from her sheath and she didn't notice until Jennifer tried to use it as an arrow?"

"Or when she charm-spoke Doug into thinking he was Gibby from iCarly?"

"Or when she spray-painted her initials in hot pink on the dock?"

Destiny nodded. "You can still see it!" She stood up and began tracing the faded _J.E.M._

I sighed, staring at the letters. I smiled a little. Jennifer Eliza Moore will be fine. If one of us were to survive out of camp, it was her. She was pretty much the master of blending in while sticking out. That's how she got away with everything.

_Don't be ridiculous_, I thought as a sudden wave doubt washed over me. _No demigod is safe outside of camp when they know exactly who they are. Remember Mikayla?_

"Mikayla was a ditz. Jennifer would never get caught that that quickly." Destiny said, as if reading my mind.

Mikayla Flooney was a daughter of Nike. All her life, she wanted to get out into the world on a quest of some sort. When she was fourteen, she finally lost her patience. She made a rash decision and raced across the boundaries, defenseless. She was attacked by rouge harpies almost instantly. They came out of nowhere.

I shook my head to clear it of the memory. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean she won't get caught period! What if she being held captive? What if she's being tortured? What if she's—"

"Alex!" Destiny jumped up and slapped her hand over my mouth. "Stop talking like that! It's unhealthy and you'll hyperventilate. Also…" she gulped and shook her head.

"Sorry," I sighed, prying her hand off my face. "I want to find her as soon as possible and get her back here."

"Yeah, Jenny was sayin' you two have a thing goin' on, huh?" Destiny looked at me, grinning. "I'm surprised you took so long. You've been drooling over her since you first met her. Dude, that was sophomore year, you loser," she laughed.

I started blushing uncontrollably. "Well I'm sorry—"

"It's getting late," she interrupted me, "you should get some rest. I will too. Remember," Destiny stood up, put her hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye, "Jennifer is strong. She's a fighter. She won't go down that easy. If she's not back by morning, she's either too scared to come back or… she's captured. Just know, you'll see her soon, okay?"

I gulped and nodded.

She smiled. "Good. See you in the morning!" She walked away towards the cabins. I followed after her.

I got in my bed, folded my hands behind my head and let my mind wander. Somehow, I eventually found peace and fell asleep.

0~0~0~0

I was standing in the dark. After my eyes adjusted, I saw I was in a large room with stone walls. A girl my age with shoulder-length black hair was sitting on the floor, the metal cuffs on her ankles and wrists were connected to thick, long chains attached to the wall behind her. Her arms were wrapped around her knees and she was trembling.

"You-you can't keep me here forever," she choked out.

I gasped. That was Jennifer's voice. But how? She doesn't have black hair and her skin isn't pale or freckly like this girl's. Then it hit me. I remembered when we were playing truth or dare that one time, one thing she had never told anyone before was that she could change her appearance at will, only that it hurt like Hades.

I turned and followed Jennifer's gaze. She was looking at a young woman who was leaning casually against a wall. She had short, wavy brown hair and yellow eyes with slitted pupils.

Wait what?

I blinked before noticing that from the waist down, the woman was half snake. I thought for a moment. _Do I know any myths about snakes?_

I shrugged when I came up with nothing. I'd ask someone in the morning.

Snake-lady slithered up to her and smiled menacingly. Jennifer mirrored the expression, like she does when she's royally pissed.

"Oh but I can, little girl," the woman said. "I can keep you here as long as I want."

Jennifer unfolded herself, sat on her calves and met the woman's gaze. She narrowed her eyes, as if she was looking for her soul. She probably didn't find anything. "What do you want with me anyway? Is there a _reason_ you didn't kill me right away? Or is holding 'little girls' hostage a hobby of yours?"

Snake-lady threw her head back and laughed. "Oh not at all, my dear. You are merely bait. I need your friends for my latest… experiment." She grinned down at Jennifer, obviously expecting her to cower and beg for mercy or something.

Of course, she didn't give her what she wanted. Jennifer cocked her head, raised her eyebrows and gave a slight nod of approval. "I must say, Venom Breath, that was great planning on your part. I mean," she gave a light laugh, "getting my sworn enemy to make everyone try and kill me to scare me out of camp than find me on the streets of New York, capture me and bring me out to the middle of nowhere then tell me I'm bait to try and scare me. I get it, but the only problem is, I don't exactly have feelings, you know? I mean, I do, but at times I can kind of… I dunno, turn them off? So, whatever you say to me, I'm not gonna care. Like, at all. Some people are born with no sight or joints or something, I was born with no emotions. At least not extreme ones. It's ironic, since my mom is Aphrodite. She was always disappointed at the fact, but wha'ddaya gonna do, ya know?"

Her captor paced (as much as a snake can pace at least) in front of her. "I know you lie, little girl, which is very unwise."

Jennifer hooked her two index fingers at her lip, imitating snake fangs. "That'ssss why my motthhher issssn't Attthhhenaa, you dingusss," she hissed.

Snake-lady's eyes widened in outrage and she whipped a sword out of nowhere and leveled it under Jennifer's chin.

"Ah-ah-ah!" She shook her finger disapprovingly. "I'm bait, remember? You. Can't. _Touch_. Me. I swear, my friends won't take me back unless I'm as flawless as I was before I came here."

"Or," Venom Breath smiled scarily, "I can just finish you off then find new bait."

I had just enough time to see Jennifer's eyes widen in sudden fear and the woman raise her glimmering sword before I was sitting up in my bed in Cabin 3, drenched in a cold sweat.

**QOTC- Does anyone else here love That 70's Show as much as I do?**

**Leave a review, I love my readers!**

**Bu-bye,**

**Skyhigh**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Courtney's P.O.V._**

Jennifer hooked her index fingers at her lip. "That'ssss why my motthhher issssn't Atthhhenaa, you dingussss."

I stifled a small laugh from where I was standing in the dream. I must admit, this girl is _great_ under pressure. It helps that she's a compulsive liar, like when she made that 'I have no emotions' comment. When her lies don't work, as you can see, she picks something out about the other person and emphasises it.

"Ah-ah-ah!" She shook her finge disapprovingly, but a look behind her eyes that only I or some other member of ταηχ would catch showed just how intimidating this snake-woman was. "I'm bait, remember? You. Can't. _Touch_. Me. I swear, my friends won't take me back unless I'm as flawless as I was before I came here."

"Or," Venom Breath smiled scarily, "I can finish you off and just find new bait."

Jennifer's eyes widened momentarily and I saw gears turning behind them. Venom Breath raised her sword and was preparing to strike when a perfect scheme clicked in Jennifer's brain.

"No you can't," she half-closed her eyes cockily. I could practically see vibes coming off of her and wrapping around the snake woman.

Jennifer's attempted seduction only seemed to make the woman angrier. "Really?" She lowered her sword slightly and stared at her with mock interest. "And why is that?"

The daughter of love shifted slightly where she was sitting. "You're clearly bluffing."

Echidna threw her head back and laughed. "How would _you_ know whether I'm lying or not, you mere mortal?"

"I watch a lot of crime shows," she admitted, "so I'll know when you're bluffing. It all depends on where you breathe while you speak, the words you use, momentary hesitation, the works."

The snake-woman hybrid growled. "Your words are going to get you into deep trouble someday."

Jennifer gave her a sad smile. "Trust me, I know. But unlike some people, I live for now. I exist in today. If 'my words' are going to kill me someday, I'm just glad that there's some time to spend before then."

_That's deep_, I thought to her before I could stop myself.

_Wait, what? Courtney? You're here? What? How? Where? Is this woman really just in a Halloween costume? Do you guys think you're funny? _She thought, bombarding me.

'_CHILL FOR A MINUTE. I'm in a dream. This psycho will catch you contacting me if you don't calm down. No, this is not a joke. We have literally no idea where you are, I'm sorry. I think the freak's name is __Echidna, she's said to be the mother of all monsters of something like that. We'll come as soon as possible, I swear to the gods. I'll tell everyone you said hi.'_ I told her as I felt the dream slowly fading away. '_GOOD LUCK, DON'T BE STUPID! I'M STARTING TO WAKE UP WE WILL GET YOU AS SOON—'_

"—As we can," I blurted as I woke with a start. My eyes darted around, for some reason my cabin seemed weirdly unfamiliar.

On the bed next to mine, Kat was telekinetically making a rubber ball weave in and around people's beds at 60 miles an hour with a bored look on her face. When she saw that I was up, she let go of the ball and it crashed into the wall. She smiled sheepishly at me.

Her eyebrows furrowed when she noticed my troubled expression. "Are you okay?" She asked. She had been extra nice to me since she and JJ cast the spell.

"Uh, yeah," I shook my head, trying to clear it. Jennifer was alive and well, but probably not for long. ταηχ and I had to get permission from Chiron and quick. There was no telling when Echidna would lose her last nerve and kill Jennifer without waiting for us. I couldn't care less if I was biting this sick individual's bait, no one steals my best friend and gets away with it.

'_Rally your troops and go get Chiron now_.' I blinked in surprise at the sound of Kat's voice in my head. '_If anyone comes, I'll cover for you._'

I turned to her and gave a confused half-smirk. "Thanks, but since when are you telepathic?"

She shrugged and blushed a little. "I started noticing that I could hear people's thoughts a couple weeks ago. Now was the first time I tried communicating like through thought," She looked down at her white slippers. "Sorry for eavesdropping."

I shook my head and waved my hand dismissively. "You're fine, as long as it doesn't become a rumor or something. If you do tell anyone, though, I'll know. Don't forget, I'm a telepath too. If you want any practice in the future, ask Gabe, he's the master."

She nodded, smiling. I stood up and was fixing my hair into a high ponytail when Alex burst through the door. His blonde hair was a total mess and his shirt was almost dripping with sweat. Under different circumstances, I would have my phone out now, taking endless pictures. Sadly, my phone is dead and by the look on his face, I'm pretty sure he just woke up from the same dream I did.

"Courtney. Outside. Now. Ταηχ meeting." He panted. I nodded and ran outside with him.

0~0~0~0

"This is about Jennifer, right?" I asked when we all were seated in the grass. All four of us were in our usual meeting place, on the shore of the lake, closest to the amphitheater.

Brian, Destiny and Alex nodded, worry plastered on all of their faces.

"Who was that with her?" Alex bit his lip.

"Does it matter? All we need to do is banish that betch to Tartarus and get our BlueJ back here!" Destiny exclaimed. 'BlueJ' had been her nickname for Jennifer since five second after they met. Jennifer calls her 'ChickaD' in return.

"How are we supposed to find her though?" Brian gulped. "We don't exactly have access to Rachel Dare, she's been in New Rome forever and I doubt she'll be back."

I nodded slowly. "I'm pretty sure that woman was Echidna, the Mother of Monsters. Hydra, Gorgons, Cerberus, Chimera, you name it, it's probably her kid."

"But if she's half snake, how did she—"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," thank the gods, Destiny cut Brian off, holding up a hand to silence him. "I mean, I honestly doubt you want to know either."

He nodded awkwardly and looked down into his lap as his cheeks flushed red.

"Anyway," Destiny clapped her hands to break the uncomfortable silence that was beginning to settle between us all. "Back to business. How do we get a quest to find Jennifer? Should we ask Chiron then IM Camp Jupiter? Just kinda… go? Nahh, we'd be dead in five minutes. We could…," she paused, looking at each of us, unsure of what to say.

"Did you guys even see her?" Alex choked. He had barely said anything this whole time. My head snapped in his direction to see a lone tear beginning to trickle down his cheek. "She looked terrible. She was all dirty, there were cuts on her arms. She was trembling, you guys. When was the last time anybody saw her tremble?"

I gulped. He was right. It took a lot to get this particular daughter of Aphrodite to shake in fear. I shook my head. "I don't know," I said quietly.

Destiny's hard expression melted into a mix of pity and worry. "Oh, Alex," she leaded from where she was sitting next him and hugged him. "We'll find her, okay? I promise. 'I'm bait,' she said. Remember? Echidna can't hurt her."

"You're wrong," he mumbled, making a failed attempt to shrug Destiny off. "Echidna can't _kill_ her. She can beat her and torture her and there's nothing we can do about—" Alex broke off and his shoulders shook as fearful tears trickled down his cheeks.

"We'll get there before that happens," I squeezed his thigh. "I promise, we will get Jennifer back here. Safe and sound, okay?"

He nodded, but I could hear that he was thinking otherwise. '_You can't promise that,_' he thought bitterly, '_she should've never been captured period._'

'_Alex, remember what Jennifer said in the dream? Echidna was whispering in Casey's ear so she could get the spell cast. That snake knew how Jennifer would react. Jennifer thought she would be killed if she didn't run from camp. There was no avoiding this. I'm sorry.'_

Alex gave me a sad look and began to stand up. He wiped the tears from his eyes and tried for a smile. "Well, we should probably ask Chiron about the quest we want, right?"

"Mhmm," Brian nodded and hopped up.

"Leg'go," Destiny stood then looked down at me and offered her hand, "You coming, MindReader?"

I smiled and took it. "Of course, CherryBlossom."

"Don't call me that…" she said lightly as she turned around

The moment I was on my feet, Alex, Brian and Destiny took off as fast as they possibly could towards the Big House. Alex glanced over his shoulder, smirking to my surprise. Gods, I swear none of my friends will ever grow up. Never. It is literally impossible for any of us to stay serious for more than two minutes. I rolled my eyes and raced after them.

'_Then again,_' I thought as I ran after them, '_I'd probably go insane if they acted even slightly mature._'

I had just about caught up to them as they approached the House.

Destiny glanced back and grinned. "Wow Court," she turned to face me, "you were traveling at about the speed of snail back there. New record, am I right?"

I narrowed my eyes and punched her playfully in the arm. "If we weren't friends…"

"…you would slaughter me," she laughed. "I know. We keep forgetting to sign you up for anger management."

I waved her off. "Whatever, let's just go inside."

Without waiting for a reply, I barged through the front door of the House. I was greeted by a white centaur who was trying (and failing) to cover up for dozing on the job. Okay, maybe my entrance was a little too loud.

"I-I wasn't sl-eeping," Chiron grunted, jerking upright in his wheel chair. When he saw us filing into the room, he relaxed a little. "Oh, it's just you guys."

Destiny rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "Psshh, you say that like we aren't half the threat."

"Wait till my father hears about this," Brian said, jokingly narrowing his eyes.

I lightly slapped him in the arm as Alex snickered. "C'mon guys, we have an _actual problem_ on are hands, remember? We can handle this later."

Alex nodded, suddenly serious. "Remember how we told you that Jennifer Moore is… how do I put this—?"

"—I dunno, _gone_?" Destiny supplied.

Chiron nodded and tried to hide his surprise. "She isn't back?" I bit my lip and shook my head.

'_Uh oh,_' he was thinking.

His head jerked in my direction. "What did I tell you about reading my mind?"

My face flushed a little. "Sorry. I'm just… practicing. In case I'm ever kidnapped or something, maybe, if I can read my captor's mind without being detected, I can see a map of wherever I am, then I could escape. But, you know, I've gotta start small, right? Heh," I rambled.

"Speaking of kidnapping" Brian rolled onto the balls of his feet, "we all had this dream last night, and Jennifer was in it."

"She's being held hostage," Alex added.

"She was chained to a wall. The whole cell was super medieval. Stone walls, metal cuffs connected to think chain links attached to the wall…" I trailed off.

"You all had this dream?" Chiron looked at each of us in turn. We nodded and continued.

"This freak-awkward-snake-woman-thing—"

"I'm pretty sure it's Echidna," I interrupted Destiny.

"Sure, _Echidna_, was like smack-talking her and being all 'you is just bait, no burdy currs about yew,'" she imitated a slurring, southern voice. "Then she was all, 'I is gon' keeelll yew haaaaa.' Then Jennifer was like, '_nope_, not today, bi—"

Alex slapped his hand over her mouth to remind her just exactly who we were talking to. Brian and I facepalmed her and sighed in unison. It was weird. Chiron raised an eyebrow and I could tell he was suppressing small laughter at Destiny's bluntness.

'_I'm sorry…_' I thought to him awkwardly.

'_This is why I love you kids,_' he thought back.

"Anyway," Brian continued, giving her the hairy eyeball, "we were wondering if we could have a quest to get her back. The only real problem is we really get a prophecy as easily as we could, like, 25 years ago."

"I mean, I guess we could Iris-message Camp Jupiter or something," Alex shrugged.

"Of course you can," Chiron smiled. "I see and understand your need to go. Why don't you IM Camp Jupiter at around 11:00."

We nodded, thanked him and hurried out of the House. The day was warm and welcoming already, even though it was early.

"What time is it?" Destiny asked the moment the door shut behind us.

Alex and I shrugged as Brian checked the gold, diamond-encrusted watch on his wrist. "It's like 9:30," he said, but I barely registered because I was too caught up in the glittering watch.

"Hey, um where'd you get that?" I pointed at it.

Destiny glanced at the watch then did a double take when she realized what kind of watch it was. She looked up. "Did you steal that?"

Brian shifted uncomfortably and looked side to side. Then he tried to play it cool with a, "Naw, I didn't steal thi—_whaaat_?" He gulped. "Okay, fine. But I didn't _steal_ it, I just borrowed it without asking with no intent of returning."

I may have been just imagining, but as I crossed my arms and raised a skeptical eyebrow, I could've sworn I heard Hermes all the way from Mount Olympus clapping and shouting, 'That's my boy!'

"Whatever," Destiny rolled her eyes. "Here's no point in trying to get him to return it now. Besides, we having more important things to do."

"Like what?" He asked. "We can't call Camp Jupiter until 11:00."

"Why 11?" I asked.

Brian nodded to me. "Time zones." I nodded.

Destiny's eyes began to glitter mischievously.

'Oh, gods,' I sighed and checked her thoughts to make sure that whatever she was planning this time wasn't _too_ evil.

'_Get me some whipped cream or something. I'll explain later,_' were her only thoughts.

I squinted, confused, but held out my hand anyway and began using the Mist to formulate a full bottle of Reddi Whip in my palm. Destiny snatched it the moment it was complete. Then she ever so silently sprayed a huge dollop of the white cream into her hand.

Only as she began to raise it up did I realize what was going on. It was too late for me to stop her now, though.

"SMACK CAM!" She hollered as she slapped Alex, who was deeply lost in thought, right across his stunned face. His expression changed from surprised, to offended, to pissed, to a playful anger in less than 2 seconds. "Catch me if you can, Water Boy!" She screeched before bolting away.

"I'm gonna kill you, Miller!" He called after her as Alex chased her.

I giggled as they ran across the grass. Brian put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him before pecking the top of my head.

"I love you," he murmured into my hair.

"Oh my gods," I scoffed a little even though I felt heat rushing to my cheeks, "you're soo cheesy."

"Don't pretend you don't love it," I sighed, giving up and leaned my head on his shoulder.

**_Destiny's P.O.V._**

Okay, okay. There are five things that you guys reading could be thinking right now:

1) OMGs Destiny! You're such a jerk! Quit picking on Alex!

2) Lolz

3) Yeah, that was funny, but what was that for?

4) OH MY GAWDS YOU TOTALLY HAVE A THING FOR ALEXANDER DAVIS DON'T YOU AWWWWW

5) …I agree, ice cream is fabulous

No. Just no to number four. Trust me, I ship Jennalex harder than any of you guys.

To answer your incredible question (number 3), I'm doing all this to Alex to keep his mind from wandering. I know him enough to know that if it wanders, it'll go straight to Jennifer and the fact that she's being held captive. Then he'll get really sad, then he'll turn depressed, then mad at the world and everything in it. All in five minutes. So, as the amazing person I am, I'm helping him keep his mind off her. You're all welcome.

"_I'm gonna kill you, Miller!_" He shouted and chased after me.

I threw my head back and laughed before stealing a glance behind me. Damn. I forgot how fast this kid was, he's gaining on me. My eyes widened and I whipped back around and began to pick up speed. I flicked my hand over my shoulder and thick, winding vines sprouted up from the ground and wrapped themselves around Alex's ankles.

"What the—" he managed before eating dirt.

I tightened the grip of the stalks around his ankles before slowly backtracking to approach him. I stopped, just out of reach, before smugly grinning down at him.

"You were saying?" I cocked my head menacingly.

His eyes narrowed into irritated slits as he continued struggling against the vines. "Once I get out of this…" he grunted with effort, "you are dead meat."

I huffed. "_Surree_," I said, sitting down cross-legged in front of him.

His face began reddening with exertion and he pawed at the ground, as if he was trying to pull himself out of the vines. "You… are… _so_… dead."

It was close to five minutes later when he gave up. "Just let me out, please?" He panted.

"Why should I?"

Alex groaned, bored. "Stop being annoying. Let me go."

"Fine," I nodded. "But what will you do for me?"

He yawned. "I _won't_ totally slaughter you."

I rolled my eyes but obliged.

"_Thank_ you," he stood up and began to walk over to a tree, which he sat down and leaned up against. I studied him from my seat in the grass. He seemed perfectly at peace with his surroundings, you'd never think that his girlfriend just—

_SWOOSH! _About 60 pounds of ice water were dumped on my head out of nowhere, drenching me from head to toe. I froze, my mouth agape and shoulders tense.

**QOTC- Favorite/least favorite character?**

**Leave a review, I love my readers!**

**Bu-bye,**

**Skyhigh**


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